Stuart Saves His Family

Stuart Smalley's beloved self-help Chicago cable show is cancelled, whereupon he discovers that, what with depression, alcoholism, unemployment and obesity, his dysfunctional family back in Minnesota is far worse off than he is. Writer/performer Al Franken created Smalley for TV's Saturday Night Live, but his catchphrase - 'I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me' - here in an expanded context proves somewhat wide of the mark. Franken squeezes a few chuckles out of the moon-faced, cardigan-wearing, therapy-dependent Stuart, and those familiar with Alcoholics Anonymous' 12-step recovery programme may bond in sympathy. The sentimentality, however, doesn't play.